Valkia's arms ached. Her whole body ached. She had no doubt she'd be painted over with multicolor bruises the next day. Her head spun slightly as she stood alone in the heat, watching the Handler run off excitedly.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and she knew she should've been defensive, been ready, but the tiredness had seeped into her bones, into her head, and she instead turned her head to see a hooded man staring at her.
"You're from the Fifth Fleet." He said, and at Valkia's nod, he strode forward further. Dark, coiled hair spilled out from his cloak, and she watched carefully as he removed his hood.
Wyverian. A younger one, too. He stood at the same height as her, but his face was sharp and unyielding, as if it'd been cut from stone.
He glanced at her, no doubt taking in the mismatched eyes that'd been the continual remark of anyone she'd met. But he didn't comment, simply saying, "The Elder Crossing is upon us again, I suppose." He let out what might've been a huff of amusement. "Strange to believe it's been forty years since we set foot here."
Valkia's thoughts tangled, trying to do the math, and then her mind caught on something. The staff he carried - it was no staff, she should know. It was a glaive, like hers. Finally, her mouth moved, and she managed to rasp out two words. "First Fleet?"
The strange man watched her carefully. "Yes. I am a hunter as well." He looked her up and down, his expression unreadable. "It has been a long time since I have seen another hunter. Would you mind sharing your tale?"
Valkia nodded again, swallowing. She didn't talk, usually. The Handler was usually too concerned with other things to ask her much, and she typically did the talking for her. Even the researchers preferred Valkia to write everything down rather than relay it verbally. But something about the wyverian made her feel at ease.
"Let us find a suitable place, then." He intoned, and started walking away from the huge slag, into the desert. Valkia stared after him, wondering if she'd made a mistake, but decided to follow him anyways.
/
The mark of the Sapphire Star rests upon her forehead. I feel a strange draw to this hunter, as if some part of me knows that I will see her again. I don't know why I promised that. But just as something draws me towards this inevitable conclusion, something also draws me towards her.
/
Valkia sat back on the bench, staring up into the trees. The drinks had soothed her head somewhat, but there was still a bone-deep tiredness that resounded through every inch of her. The wyverian had been kind as she spoke, not getting impatient when she stumbled through words that she hadn't spoken in years, just listening and nodding as she told the story of her rise through the hunters, and her journey across the vast sea.
After she finished, a companionable, comfortable silence stretched out between them. She took another drink as he spoke, a touch of amusement lighting his words. "Sounds like my old friends haven't changed a bit." He paused, eyes growing more serious. "You are helping the Commander track whatever beast dropped that slag out there, aren't you?"
Valkia nodded again, and he let out a hmm. "I as well. I.. am able to sense the energies that run through this earth. More than most. It seems very easy in concept. Follow the trail, find the truth. But I've been searching for countless years, with little to nothing to show for it."
Valkia didn't respond, only offering a slight grimace in response. He sighed. "Your Handler is returning." He stood, offering a hand to her. "Please inform the Commander that his old friend is safe. But a force compels me to continue, so I must." He stopped again, face-to-face with her, and they stood there for a long moment.
He studied her face with that intense gaze. "We will meet again, at the end of all things."
Before Valkia could respond, he was gone, walking past the Handler and the scholars, who'd just arrived. The Handler cast a curious glance at him as he passed by, then at Valkia, but in a rare bit of silence, didn't comment.
Valkia watched him leave, mulling over his cryptic comment. At the end of all things. He certainly knew more than she did. At the end of Zorah Magdoros? It seemed the obvious answer, but she had a feeling that he meant something bigger than that. Greater.
She turned back to the Handler, putting it out of her mind. She'd tell the Commander about his friend. But she had more important things to focus on now.
/
I knew from that moment onwards - the final stand would be ours. I saw the drive in her eyes and thought, I will see you again.
I've fought a great many monsters in my time, but something tells me she will surpass all of us./
Valkia's life continued on. The First Wyverians challenged her - and she succeeded. She'd brought down the apex predators of two great lands. She'd proved herself as the finest hunter of her time, the others said.
Then they drove back Zorah Magdoros. Soaked with sweat, panting, Valkia watched it swim out to sea. It was done. It was over now. The wise wyverian's words echoed again in her mind. We will meet again, at the end of all things.
People were cheering, screaming in joy. The Commander's mouth was moving, but the words weren't making sense. Other hunters were clapping her shoulder, smiling, but Valkia pushed them away and blindly stumbled towards her handler.
The Handler was watching the distant sea, arms braced into the railing. She glanced over, smiling. "Pard! We did it. It's over."
Valkia shook herself out of her stupor. "It's.." She tried again, clearing her throat. The Handler's eyes widened. "It's not over." She shook her head. "More things out there."
"Are you okay?" The younger girl asked, reaching out a hand to steady the blonde. "You don't usually.. Talk. Maybe you need to get something in your stomach?" She smiled weakly, but her eyes betrayed her concern. She fiddled nervously with the straps of her book.
"The wyverian.. said.." Valkia struggled to choke out the words, her throat disagreeing with the sudden use. "It's not the end." She gestured helplessly. It was indescribable - the feeling that curled restlessly in her core. "He's not here."
"I think you need to get some rest, okay?" The Handler smiled nervously, taking Valkia's arm and leading her further into the ship.
Valkia craned her head back for one desperate glance. Searching, anywhere, everywhere. He'd said they'd meet again. He wasn't here. But why should she trust the word of one stranger she'd met out of nowhere? How would he even know about the operation? She tried to squash the feeling, tell herself that he'd been lying, but some sense of doom lingered.
/
I've found the place I was searching for. The Zorah Magdoros was heading for something, before the Commission headed it off. I don't have a doubt that she was at the head of it.
I wonder if she's realized it - that Zorah was not the end.
As I learn more, I grow more convinced, that together, we will stand at the end of all of this.
/
She was right. It wasn't over. The end is yet to come, she tells herself as she fights off elder dragons, comes inches from dying and crawls back out, as she spits in the face of death and puts her glaive through its eye.
Something changes, though. She no longer does this because she loves hunting. She does it because she must. Because of the Fifth Fleet - the best new hunters - she is the best. As the Third Fleet Master tells her, with a smirk on her face, you are their hope. She forces herself to start speaking again, if only for practicality. Her voice comes back, slowly.
Today, the Elder's Recess is beautiful in a way that only dangerous things can be. She sits back from working on a dead Daora's hide, chipping away those metallic scales to give to the Smithy. The sun sets slowly, casting a glow on everything.
"Hey, kid." The voice startles her, and she looks over her shoulder to see the beast of a man they call the Admiral. "Good work here. You doing alright?"
She nods. "Those wind blasts are a pain. But it's dead. What's next?" Somewhere along the line, hunting stopped being a passion and started being work. The light that once drove her has faded - now, she does it because she must. Because no one else will. Even the Huntsman was defeated by Teostra. She does not know what will defeat her.
The Admiral chuckles, wholeheartedly, as he sits down next to her. "I'll tell you, you did a mighty fine job here. Without you, we might've been dead.. Several times over."
She nods blankly. She knows this fact. This is the only reason she hunts now.
"I need you to come with me tomorrow."
She looks at him with surprise. Valkia knows that the Admiral very rarely works with others - he'd been off on his own for goodness knows how long. "What for?"
"The reason I disappeared off into the Recess while you were taking all the credit for the big boys. I need you to listen carefully, Valkia."
Valkia frowned, turning to him. "You've found something?"
The Admiral nods. "An old friend of mine has been investigating the energy in the earth. The rivers, they're like blood vessels, all over. And energy has been pouring through them. He went to find the source, and, well…" He pauses. "He found it, big time. And he wants the both of us to accompany him."
"Who.." Valkia begins. A cautious, precious hope sparks in her chest, as she recalls a figure from what seems like an eternity ago.
"We call him Seeker. He had a message for you, too - I promised our paths would cross again, and so they must. I will be waiting at our convergence of fates." The Admiral shrugs. "Cryptic, but that's always been him. It's an invitation."
"I.." Valkia can't find the words. She'd almost forgotten the meeting, so long ago in the Waste. So much has happened since then. So much had changed.
The Admiral looks at her, mistaking her hesitation. "I know you're up for it. We all do."
Valkia nods. "Of course. When are we leaving?"
"Bright and early tomorrow morning." He gets up, looking out towards the horizon, and laughs. "Keep this between you and me, alright? No need to get everyone in a tizzy. We'll get in, do what we need to, and get out."
She hopes it's as simple as he makes it sound.
/
It is strange to know, at the end of this river, is the end. This is what I've been pursuing for so many years. Will I have any purpose afterwards? What will happen at the end? I have so many questions, and simply not enough time.
I can hope that the Admiral and the hunter with mismatched eyes arrive. I will have to face it eventually, but I hope to do so with them by my side.
/
As the Admiral and Valkia approached the camp, Valkia felt her heart racing. It had to be the wyverian she'd met. There was no one else she'd felt such a connection with, even after less than an hour of talking. He'd haunted her for months. The promise that there would be an end, that they would face it together.
She dropped from the wingdrake, and beheld him.
The Seeker met her eyes with a knowing look. "So we meet again, hunter. I followed the trail of energy here, to what I believe is its source. And so have you."
Valkia stopped and stared for a moment, trying to recover her thoughts. She'd known, of course, but to face him again.. "Yes," she finally managed to speak. "I have. I've explored the Coral Highlands, and now the graveyard of the elder dragons."
"And what do you think?" He prompted.
"I think something is wrong with the flow of energy," she said hesitantly. "It's not supposed to be gathering like this."
He nodded. "Good. Yes. An abnormal amount of energy from the vale, from all over the continent, was collecting in one place. When we first met, I was still unsure of where that was. But I've found it - it lies at the end of this river." He gestures to the water, to the boat, and Valkia swallows.
"This is it, then?" She asks. "This is why everything converged."
He nods, gravely, and lowers his voice. "This is the end of everything. Let us find our ending together." His eyes are calm and steady as he offers his hand to step onto the boat.
Valkia holds his gaze as she takes it, her Palico hopping across behind her. The Admiral follows soon after, and it is not long before the Seeker is pushing off from the shore.
While they travel through the crystal-lined passages, she thinks. Was everything set in motion from the moment they met? Was the message she took to the Commander, all that time ago, also a signal that the Seeker had not found what he was looking for, but who he was looking for? What are they looking for? Energy? More importantly, what kind of danger does he expect to be in if he brings the best of the best?
The Seeker stops rowing to look ahead, and Valkia takes his place unconsciously, the steady pace putting her mind at ease somewhat. They sit in silence for a long time, as the glow around them grows brighter and brighter. At the distant end, it is almost blinding.
"Prepare yourself, my friends. Something is terribly amiss." The Seeker speaks, jolting Valkia out of her thoughts, and she realizes they are almost to the shore. The Admiral hops out, pulling the boat up against the rocky bank. She jumps onto solid ground, thankful for it, and then looks down the tunnel.
Lined with crystals, the glowing seems to get even stronger down the path. The Seeker sets out ahead. "It's inside." He says, and Valkia realizes he is just as nervous as she. It soothes her somewhat, to know she is not alone. They pace steadily down the tunnel until it opens up to a ledge, and a room full of light. She winces, letting her eyes adjust, until she sees what it is - an orb, of some sort, suspended on the crystals in the middle of the room. It glows and pulses violently, as if with a heartbeat.
"Great Mother of.. Damn." The Admiral swears, shielding his eyes. The Seeker says nothing, only going forward further, investigating some of the shattered crystals under the orb. "What is this?" The Admiral asks.
Valkia shakes her head, clueless herself. Hearing the Seeker say something, she approaches him, examining the stone in his hand. "What is this…" He murmurs to himself.
And then all hell breaks loose.
Light erupts from the orb in burning beams, scorching and breaking the crystals.
Valkia dives to the side to avoid being hit, and when she looks back, her companions are nowhere to be seen in the haze of dust and light.
Stunned and blinded by the brightness, she doesn't see the beam sweep towards her until it's too late. She can't even think, she's frozen in place - move, move, move-
Someone shoves into her and sends her sprawling.
The beams stop.
The dust settles.
The Seeker lies on the ground.
Motionless. Still as death.
The Admiral snaps into action first, yelling something incomprehensible as he skids to the man's side, dropping to his knees and feeling for a pulse. After several agonizing heartbeats, he nods, letting out a sigh of relief.
Valkia falls to her knees beside the Seeker. He's barely breathing, burns scorching their way up half of his body. He took the hit for her. She was going to die.
She looks up at the Admiral, before his eyes focus on something behind her, and the blood drains out of his face.
Slowly, she turns, and beholds what is staring back at them. A face not of this earth.
Yellow-orange, completely alien eyes stare back as the tendrils that made up the glowing orb unravel. Amid a downpour of liquid not unlike the river they'd just been in, it collapses ungracefully to the ground. Shaking out its wings - wide enough to blot out the stars, it seems - and unfurling itself from a heap on the ground, it looks up towards the ceiling, the distant sky, and roars.
A roar loud enough to rattle the stars. They wince, covering their ears, as it let out an unsettling gurgle, and then swung its massive head towards them.
The Admiral snarls, getting up, his fists clenched, but Valkia dashes forward, grabbing his arm. "No!"
He stops, looking back over her, first with confusion, then with understanding. "Okay, kid. Do what you have to do." He stoops, slinging the unconscious man over his shoulder and running back towards the boat. "Hold it off as long as possible!" He yells back at her. "I'll come with help! Just - don't let it leave the nest!"
And then he's gone.
The monster takes unsteady, slow steps towards her. Valkia fastens her grip on her glaive, and looks down at her Palico. It gazes back at her with wide, yet steady eyes, and gives her a nod.
She breathes, once, twice, and then enters the battle-trance, and loses herself somewhere within it.
/
I woke up alone, in Astera.
I'd found the trail, found the truth - and yet I knew nothing for it. I simply knew of the stone that I found in my cloak, somehow surviving the whole ordeal - that was the sign that it'd been more than a terrible nightmare.
Then the news came. The beast of bioenergy - defeated by the hunter with the mark of the Sapphire Star on her forehead.
The Admiral came to me one night. He told me how he'd found her. He'd flown into the plateau where they battled, and found Valkia, exhausted, near-death, facing off with the Elder. She'd given it everything she had and more, he said. With one final blow, she'd taken it down as her glaive pierced down into its head.
And they both tumbled into the abyss.
He'd barely caught her.
Was this trail worth the truth?
/
She wonders if this is what death is like. It is dark, and quiet.
/
Perhaps it is destiny, or fate.
I knew from our first meeting that we'd face the end together. I thought that meant we'd battle it, we'd conquer it -
She faced it alone, and that breaks my heart most of all.
She hasn't woken up yet, and it hurts me.
It hurts to care this much.
/
It comes back all at once.
She wakes up gasping, gulping down air, hands scrabbling for purchase on the wood. The beast, the monster, the fire and light and flame, it's going to consume her and drag her down into that dark abyss again-
People are stirring and shouting around her. Above them all, someone is yelling at them to get out. She's hyperventilating, some part of her recognizes.
"It happened moments ago for her. Get out." Someone is saying, and doors are slamming, and it's too much, it's too loud. Valkia's trembling from head to toe, tears running down her face, breath coming in ragged pants. She was falling. She was falling down, down, into the darkness -
"Valkia." Someone's hands are on her shoulders. She looks up to see the Seeker, her vision blurred with tears. "Breathe. Deep breaths. Breathe." The gentle repetition helps, and her breathing slows. He gets up from the chair at her bedside and seats himself next to her, shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Can you speak to me?" He presses. "How are you feeling?"
She can't respond. How could she? To explain all that had happened there - she shakes her head at him, and doesn't meet his pressing gaze. Her thoughts can barely organize themselves, and she hits a wall of pure terror every time she thinks of voicing it.
He doesn't push further though. Instead, he hands a mug of water to her, and he talks. He tells her about coming to Astera, about the ship lodged on the rocks that are now high above the sea level. He tells her about how they swam to shore, and looked out upon an uncharted land. He saved the Admiral from nearly getting swallowed by a Great Jagras, he laughs.
She still doesn't speak, and he doesn't press. Instead, she rests her head against his shoulder, drinking in the feeling of being alive. She is safe. She is here, in Astera. She is alive. The monster is dead.
Eventually, her eyes grow tired again, and everything fades away into the blackness.
/
The healers shake their heads. The wounds are not all external, they say. Something happened there that damaged her mind and her sense of self.
I don't know how to help her.
It's selfish of me, but I hoped that, after everything was done, after trail and truth had been found, that I could return to Astera with her, and see my Fleet again, and get to know the hunter that haunted my thoughts for all this time. A selfish dream.
It is the Handler that she wakes up to this time.
She is more composed, this time, but she still jolts back to solidity, after falling endlessly in her dreams, wrapped in the cocoon of those giant, darkened wings. No chance to break free, no chance to do anything but fall.
The Handler's chatter is a dull undertone to everything else.
"Valkia!" A voice cries, and she squints to see the excitable fiver standing over her. His face is split in a wild grin, as usual, and his voice sends pounding spikes of pain through her head. "How are you? Finally woke up from your beauty sleep?"
"Hey, let her have some time. Go out and grab some food for us." His partner orders, and he practically deflates, dragging his feet as he brushes through the fabric shielding them from the outside.
Speaking of outside, there's a lot of noise coming from out there. It sounds like a party, almost. Like people are.. Celebrating.
"The Admiral decided to throw a party after the big news." The other handler says, understanding the confusion on her face. "The thing you found.. It was an entirely new species of Elder Dragon. The Hunter's Guild has named it Xeno'jiva. And.. officially, our work on Astera is done. You can return home now, if you'd like…" There is an unspoken question there, and Valkia does not deign to answer it.
Instead, she shuffles towards the edge of the bed, hesitantly setting her feet on the floor. Her armor is gone, she realizes. Just the simple leather armor - the same armor she wore all that time ago, when she first landed on the island.
How long ago was it? She's forgotten. It's been an eternity since killing the- No. She's not going to think about that, and she swallows back the choking fear that drifts up her throat. Slowly, Valkia attempts to stand.
It's wobbly at best, and she nearly falls over if not for the serious handler's arm around her suddenly. Her headache returns twofold, and she considers slumping back into bed, but Valkia steels herself. They are throwing this party for her, after all. The hero of the hour may deign to make an appearance.
The lights outside hit her all at once, and she shrinks back, an arm thrown over her face protectively. It feels like a thousand stabbing claws tearing at her eyes, and she feels water gathering under her eyelashes. Biting it back, Valkia looks up and out.
It has gone very silent. Valkia and the handler are the center of attention, and her gaze flits from figure to figure. Her Handler trots out, beaming at her, and the Admiral is not far behind. The Tracker turns in her seat, giving an understanding nod to her, and even the Third Fleet Master is there, in all her grace.
Then the Seeker steps into view. They lock gazes, and Valkia sees clearly the torrent of emotions swirling in his mind. Guilt, regret, fear.. And yet.. An overwhelming happiness at the sight of her. Still keeping his eyes focused on her, he raises a mug.
"To the Sapphire Star." He intones, and the cry is picked up throughout the tradeyard. Everyone turns to their neighbor, wild with happiness, and cheers raucously. The noise makes her wince, yet it's better now.
The Admiral approaches her, smiling widely, and puts a hand on her back, steering her away from the main crowd. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Valkia." He laughs, and she appreicates that he tones down his voice a bit. "Almost thought I'd lost you there." His eyes darken, and he looks away. "Either way, sit down and eat. You've been out for three days, you must be starving."
And she is. Sitting down with him at a table somewhat secluded from the events and cheering, she finds that her appetite kicks in with a voracious hunger. As she eats, he fills her in, confirming the events that the serious handler had mentioned.
"Officially? Our work here is done. We're free to return home. But… our work here is still valuable, and who knows what may show up. To be honest with you, kid?" He laughs deeply. "This is my home. Has been ever since we landed on these shores. The First Fleet.. Those were the days. I did the fieldwork, one did the commanding, one did the tracking, and one did the thinking."
His gaze catches on something over her shoulder. "Speaking of.. I should let you two have a moment. Have a good night, Valkia. Don't give up." He gives her a wide, honest smile, and then is gone, brushing past her.
She doesn't look up at the figure she knows is coming.
The Seeker sits down across from her, and gives her a warm smile. She can't bring herself to return it. Something inside her is clawing deep, deep down, into that dark pit that she fell into. The words catch in her throat again. She can't do it. She can't do it.
"If not for you, I would likely be dead. So would the Admiral, and countless others." He says, in a tone that indicates he doesn't expect a response. "I thank you, Valkia."
She looks up. The fire casts his eyes orange, flickering, like-
No.
"You did a great service for us all. But…" His eyelids flutter, and he lowers his voice. "There have been many tales. But no one dares to mention that, in order to defeat-" He stops when her fist clenches on the table. There is a long silence as they stare at each other.
Her lip is curled in a silent snarl, and he doesn't say anything more. Instead, he sips from the mug he brought with him, and pointedly looks away from her. He's expecting her to speak, she knows. She doesn't.
If she stays still enough, she thinks she can see the stars slink through the darkened sky. Distant roars sound from far, far off into the forest. The murmur of the party swells, then falls again.
She barely notices when he speaks again.
"You lost a part of yourself down there."
She goes still. So very still. Her whole body feels cold.
He looks at her - looks through her, and he knows. She knows that. His expression softens.
"I'm sorry Valkia. I thought.." He sighs, digging out a bright blue stone from his bag. "I thought we would face the end together. You were never meant to be alone." He hands the streamstone to her.
She stares into it, finding a facet that distorts her reflection wildly, two-tone eyes glowing. She had been alone at the end, and she'd known that it'd end alone. Fate worked out that way. It'd led her to the Seeker, which had led to her becoming the best hunter of the Fifth Fleet, which had led to.. All of this. And yet, she'd been alone at the top.
Valkia shakes her head, making to hand the streamstone back to the Seeker. He stops her, though. "Keep it."
She weighs it carefully in her hands and in her mind. Half of her is tempted to hurl it over the edge into the raging waters. But part of her also knows that she cannot be scared of it forever.
She ignores both, and pockets it, ignoring its unsettling thrum of energy. Glancing back at the Seeker, Valkia sees him watching the party. The look on his face is uncomfortably familiar - of being happy to see others happy, yet also so alone.
"Would you like me to leave again, Valkia?" He asks, and her attention is jolted back to the present. She shakes her head, watching his response. He looks out towards the sea for a long while. "I am a tired man. My purpose in life has been fulfilled." He laughs darkly. "I think I am just as afraid as you are. I do not know how to come back to.." The Seeker gestures to the party. "Normal life."
She nods. She doesn't know how to go back to being normal either. She doesn't know if that means she will hunt the now-easy monsters like everyone else, or.. Not hunt at all. She doesn't know.
Without thinking, she reaches out for his hand, resting on the table, and curls her hands beside his. An invitation, and a question, maybe. She's not even sure what she's doing, but she knows it'll be okay with him.
The Seeker lets out a long, deep breath and covers her hands with his own. "We can figure this out together," he says slowly. It is not a question.
Valkia nods, mutely, and they sit in silence together for a long, long time.
the star and the seeker will return again, in Trial and Time